21 May 2011

After helping to raise a record €7 million ($10M USD) for HIV/AIDS research at the annual "Cinema Against AIDS" gala at Cannes, a fabulous looking Janet Jackson adds some Hollywood glamour in Vienna today for the annual Life Ball AIDS gala. Love. It.

Life Ball is a gala to raise money for people living with HIV/AIDS. This is the 19th edition and it is the largest in Europe. The gala is held at the Rathaus, Vienna's ridiculously elegant gothic city hall.

With ball organizer Gary Kreszler below. More photos and a few from the press conference AFTER THE JUMP ...

31 December 2010

The founder of Britain's first gay football club has been appointed an MBE in the Queen’s New Year's Honours List 2011.

Fifty-year-old Aslie Pitter was recognized for his 20-year-fight against homophobia. The founder of Stonewall FC tells the BBC that he is still "pinching himself" after after being appointed an MBE.

[Pitter said] it was nerve-racking being one of the first openly gay teams to "put our heads on the block" and start playing Sunday football. But he said the team had barely received any abuse over the decades.

Mr Pitter now manages Stonewall FC's second team. He said: "Being black and being gay I thought I might come in for a lot of stick. In our first game we were sharing a communal shower with seven other teams and I was pretty nervous. But it has never really been a problem."

Unfortunately Mr Pitter's father died only days before the announcement. He said: "It is a shame neither of my parents were around to see it."

Only one professional footballer has come out publicly. England international star Justin Fashanu was the first black player to command a £1m transfer fee but suffered vile homophobic abuse from fans and players after coming out in 1990. Fashanu tragically took his own life in 1998 at the age of 37.

03 August 2010

Running late and should be up by noonish. Trying to get readjusted to sleeping and time back in the States. Thankfully it's not as difficult as the crossing to Europe. And I'll be doing it again soon, oy.

Thanks a million to everyone who sent good wishes, positive vibes, comments and great support on my assignment to AIDS 2010 in Vienna, as well as my time in Austria, Germany and Denmark. A big virtual (albeit sleepy) hug.

PrEP is one of the most promising prevention tools on the immediate horizon. With PrEP, HIV-negative individuals take antiretroviral drugs to prevent becoming infected with the virus. The first PrEP studies are testing tenofovir alone (Viread), while several later studies are testing tenofovir plus emtricitabine (Truvada). For that study, CDC-4323, Lisa Grohskopf, MD, from the CDC and her colleagues enrolled 400 HIV-negative MSM...The study was not designed to determine whether tenofovir could prevent HIV transmission, only whether or not it was safe compared with a placebo. All of the men were tested for HIV regularly and received rigorous HIV prevention counseling and condoms throughout the study. Grohskopf and her colleagues found that men taking tenofovir had no more side effects than men taking a placebo.

The promising PrEP results follow a breakthrough tenofovir microbicide study that found significant reduction in HIV transmissions in women who used the vaginal gel. The gel could theoretically be used in anal sex, but that has not been tested.

Tenofovir is one of so-called HIV "morning after pills". The post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is a cocktail of usually 3 or 4 anti-retoviral medications that must be taken after possible exposure to HIV and for up to 30 days. There are anecdotal reports that some gay men are taking "T" after a weekend of drug use and unprotected sex. More on PEP HERE and HERE.

Meanwhile: A "substantial" proportion of gay men say they "would reduce condom use" if pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) proves to be effective at preventing HIV, according to study released last month and presented at AIDS 2010.

The Centers for Disease Control is very bullish on the PrEP findings, especially the prevention possibilities for Black MSM. Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, talked with R20 at AIDS 2010 and we'll publish that interview soon.

27 July 2010

Petrol prices in Vienna last week near Hernals and the Hernalser Hauptstraße. Prices in € PER LITER. There are approximately 3.8L/gallon. Regular is €1.2/L=$1.55/L=$5.90/gal. The super is €1.25/L = $1.62/L = $6.15/gallon.

Oh and prices are a little higher in Berlin. Something to think about the next time you complain about our "high" petrol prices in the State ...

23 July 2010

The ticket stub from Berlin-Tegel to the Hauptbanhof on the TXL express. After a dynamic but exhausting eight days in Vienna, arrived in Berlin for a few days of R&R. It's raining here and I'm about to get some much-needed rest. Will (try to) post tomorrow.

Earlier this week you may have seen images from the XVIII International
AIDS Conference—Twitter hashtag #AIDS2010—of the Life Ball against the backdrop of a massive red ribbon and what appears to be a Gothic cathedral. The location was Vienna's monumental Rathaus, the Austrian capitol's ridiculously dramatic City Hall.

A few photos from last night's walk through the Rathaus Platz. There is a film festival happening there over the weekend. Another angle or two and images of the massive, ten foot tall posters in the plaza WHEN YOU JUMP ...

Several thousand protesters marched through Vienna's city center on Tuesday evening to demand more human rights in the fight against HIV. The march around Vienna's historic Wehring was lead by UNAIDS Director Michel Sidibé and Annie Lennox, who was recently named UNAIDS’ latest global Goodwill Ambassador.

After performing two songs, Lennox slammed neighboring Eastern Europe—where HIV is rapidly spreading, especially among children and gay men—and conference host Austria. "Your one-million-euro donation to the Global Fund in 2002 is embarrassing. This event alone will have generated over 45 million euros for the city of Vienna: set the example, put your money where your mouth is and donate generously to the Global Fund [to fight AIDS."

One million euro is approximately $1.3 million. The Austrian national budget was approximately $188 billion in 2009, according to the CIA. Watch the march AFTER THE JUMP ...